Chinese firm Lenovo has formed a joint venture with NEC, in a move to give it an immediate presence in Japan. The transaction creating the NEC Lenovo Japan Group will be completed by June 30, and will offer both enterprise and consumer products to the world's third largest PC market. Both companies will continue to maintain separate product branding in Japan; Lenovo retains 51 percent ownership in the new venture.

The JV will net $175 million for NEC, which Lenovo will pay up front by issuing new shares. Both companies will use the collaboration to negotiate better hardware component deals, making the new company a powerful entrant into the Japanese market. The joint venture will push Lenovo into the top three PC makers.

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